In These Arms
by sonnetgirl01
Summary: Ianto is really annoyed with Jack and Gwen. When he goes to investigate a Rift Spike on his own, Ianto stummbles across something rather expected and that helps him get over his problems, but creates a whole new world of issues. M for safety. Please R&R!


I don't own Torchwood, however much I wish I did.

This story kind of got away from me. It got a bit more angsty than I ment it to be.

Based on a wish by Venustas. Hope you enjoy it!

In These Arms

Ianto was annoyed. Very annoyed. Gwen had just stormed off in a huff, and Jack went after her. Because neither Owen nor Tosh were around to do that anymore, where they? So Jack went. And Ianto was jealous.

He was alone in the Hub, only the pterodactyl and quiet, dead machinery to keep him company. It was at times like this that Ianto felt truly sad. Everything was clean, and there was no one around to keep him busy, to take his mind off his hurt.

Because Ianto did hurt sometimes. Sure, he had been promoted (not verbally, but seeing as Tosh and Owen were dead, he was now working in the field), and was sleeping with the Boss (not that that involved any sleeping, really...), but he missed... everything. He had to miss his father's funeral, because the team had to go on an eventually fruitless Weevil hunt. No one had ever asked him about it, they might not have even known.

His life had got considerably better after Lisa died; the Torchwood team seemed to see him as a person, not a robot. Well, everyone rather than Owen. To Owen, he was just Tea Boy.

Ianto was shaken out of his thoughts by an alarm. Sighing, knowing what he would find, he walked over to Tosh's old desk. He looked at the screen and pulled out his phone, and called Jack.

"Ianto? What is it? Why can I hear and alarm?" Jack's voice rang through the phone, loud and clear.

"Sir, there appears to be a spike in Rift energy in the city. And it seems to be rather urgent." Ianto said, monotone.

"Ummm... I tell you what, why don't you take the SUV there, and I'll catch you up soon." Jack negotiated. "Are you ok?"

"Yep, that sounds fine. And I'm fine. Just fine. Thanks." Ianto snapped the phone closed. "Sir," he finished with heavy sarcasm.

***

The heavy, dark SUV powered through the streets of Cardiff. Ianto was close now. He looked at the clock. 5 minutes. A new record.

Ianto pulled up, checked his gun was in the holster, and leapt out of the SUV. The readings on his scanner were telling him that the source of the energy was on the fourth floor of the closed department store.

Great. That meant he was going to have to waste time picking locks. It was more time wasting than trying to be nice to Gwen.

***

Six doors later, and Ianto was mere metres away from the source of the readings.

"Hello?" he called, cautiously

Nothing. He tried again. "Hello?"

Suddenly there was a burst of bright orange light and a kind of wet thump. Ianto shielded his eyes from the light, but it was dying now. There was a dark shape on the floor, unmoving.

Slowly, Ianto moved towards the shape. And gasped when he saw what, or who, the shape was.

"Oh, dear Lord."

The person was soaking wet and appeared not to be breathing. Ianto bent down gingerly, and put his ear to the man's mouth. No, no breath. Resuscitation was obviously needed.

Ianto sighed heavily, and took a deep breath. He put his hand on the man's torso, and pressed hard one, two, three, four, five times and breathed in to his mouth, pinching the man's nose.

Again, Ianto pressed his chest and breathed into his mouth.

Halfway through the next set of chest presses, the man took a deep, rasping breath, and his eyes opened wide.

"Oh, my God, they're after me! Jesus, somebody..." The man became quiet as he took in his surroundings. "Ohhh... oh, I remember! Idiot."

Than the man seemed to register the man sitting next to him.

"Oh, for the love of all that's holy. It's you. You know, I kinda missed you! Nice suit, by the way, Eye Candy!"

Captain John Heart was grinning up at Ianto. Ianto rolled his eyes and stood up. John struggled to his feet.

"So, it was you that saved me, was it? Well, that's better than Jack, I suppose." Ianto made to walk away, but John caught his arm.

"Let go of me, John," Ianto demanded, his eyes as sharp as flint.

John laughed, and then caught Ianto's murderous expression. "Ok, ok, sheash, calm down, Eye Candy."

"Thank you," said Ianto when John let go of his arm.

"So... Where's Jack?" John asked.

"Jack's... busy." Ianto said through gritted teeth.

John grinned. "Oh-ho, left you, has he, Eye Candy? I knew he would, he always does. So who's he off with?"

"Gwen."

"What, buck teeth, big eye girl? Why?"

Ianto sighed. "I don't know, John. I think he prefers her to me."

John gave a mock gasp, and slapped Ianto lightly on the shoulder. "Now, you have to stop putting yourself down, girlfriend!" Even Ianto couldn't stop himself grinning at John's attempt at a feminine accent. "Seriously though," he continued, his voice back to normal. "No one would ever prefer Gwen when you're in the room, Eye Candy. I mean, look at you!"

The look that John was bestowing on Ianto made the latter feel slightly hot under the collar, and he felt a tugging in his groin. He pushed the felling down.

Ianto's phone started ringing. It was Jack's number showing.

"Jack?"

"No, it's Gwen." Ianto's face must have hardened, because John's eyebrows knitted together.

"What do you want, Gwen?" Ianto put her name on the end purely for John's benefit.

"Just... Jack wanted to know where you are, so we can come find you."

"You're coming too?" Ianto was deeply annoyed.

"Well, yeah. Is there a problem with that?"

Ianto ignored the question. "Why couldn't Jack ask me himself?"

"He's driving."

"Since when did that stop him?" Ianto's voice was getting louder; it rang through the deserted department store.

"Ianto, look-".

"Gwen, shut the hell up and give Jack the bloody phone!" Ianto shouted.

There was a shuffling sound, and then Jack spoke.

"Ianto? What is it?"

"Just... a Weevil coming through." For some reason, Ianto didn't want to tell Jack the truth.

"Tell us where you are, and we'll come and meet you."

Ianto was still fuming. And so he gave Jack the wrong place name. It was about a mile away from where Ianto really was.

"Ok, we're quite close. See you soon."

"Bye. Sir." Ianto closed the phone. He took a deep breath, and threw the phone as hard as he could against the wall. It shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Ianto felt tears pricking at his eyes and sank to the floor, his head in his hands.

A minute later, he felt John kneel next to him. He put a hand on Ianto's shoulder.

"Ianto. Look at me." Ianto ignored him. Until he realised...

"You said Ianto." He was shocked.

"Yes. I did, didn't I?" Johns face was no longer smiling, but it held a kind of warmth Ianto had never seen on it. "Look, Ianto, if Jack can't see what a wonderful guy you are, then he's a total prick."

John's face was close. Ianto could feel his breath on his face.

"You really are a brilliant man, Ianto Jones." Said John.

And with that, John leaned in and kissed Ianto. Ianto was slightly shocked at first, and then began to kiss John back. To begin with, the kiss was tender, and slightly hesitant. But when John realised Ianto was fine with it, he deepened to kiss, and put his hand behind Ianto's neck. Ianto moaned slightly and knelt to meet John. He slipped his arms around John's waist to pull him closer. John slipped his tongue between Ianto's lips, and Ianto met it without hesitation. His trousers were tightening. John felt it and moaned. Ianto pushed John down onto the floor, John making a pleased sound as he went. Ianto pulled away from the kiss, panting.

"God... John... I can't..."

"Yes, you can, Ianto. Give in to lust. You won't be disappointed."

Ianto deliberated for half a second. And then jumped back onto John, kissing his fiercely.

***

Ianto was pulling his trousers up when John came around.

"Such a shame, to hide that magnificent arse, Ianto. You should walk around naked all the time. You'd turn all the men in Cardiff."

Ianto laughed. "I would, but I believe that's your job."

"No, it's my job to look after you now. You're my Ianto."

"That's a bit possessive for you, isn't it?" Ianto laughed again. But he was blushing.

"Maybe. But I like you, Ianto Jones. I really do."

"Thanks. I like you to. Even if you did point a gun at my head once."

"Well, we all have our flaws," John laughed. "Everyone, it seems, except you, Ianto."

"Oh, I have flaws, trust me," Ianto giggled.

"Tell me one, and I'll believe you."

"I... Have an unnatural affection for a man that threatened to kill me and my friends."

John laughed again. "I really do apologise for that, you know. Never thought I'd come to regret anything, but here I am." He waved a hand over his naked self. And Ianto felt a little jolt again, somewhere between his crotch and naval.

"The store opens in an hour. We'd better get out of here." Ianto finished buttoning his shirt.

"Good idea. Because we don't look like you average store display. Well, I guess that depends on what kind of store you're in."

Ianto laughed and threw John his leather trousers.

***

They were walking along the road. It was about 7 o'clock, so it was still really empty.

Ianto and John seemed to be in their own little bubble of happiness. They strolled hand-in-hand to nowhere in particular.

Ianto was so relaxed compared to last night. He could only bring himself to be slightly pissed at Gwen, and less than that with Jack.

A clear beeping broke the happy silence. Ianto had heard that noise before, but couldn't place it. It wasn't until John reached for his wrist strap that he placed it.

"No," Ianto said, demandingly.

John looked at the wrist strap and sighed.

"No," repeated Ianto.

"Ianto, look, I've got to go-"

"No! No, you haven't. Stay with me." Ianto held Johns hand tighter, and pulled him close.

John laughed quietly. "I really do have to. I'm so sorry."

"Don't leave me..." Ianto whispered, tears beginning to trickle down his face.

"I'm not leaving you. I'll be back!" John looked at Ianto directly. "Ianto, I know you still love Jack. Yes," John insisted when Ianto shook his head, "yes, you do. I know you do. Don't lie to yourself."

"I-" Ianto's breathing hitched and his voice struggled to stay strong. "I love you too."

"Yes, you do. But not in the way you love him, Ianto, never in the way you love him." John put his finger under Ianto's chin and gently pulled Ianto's face up to meet his. "I'll be back, Ianto, I promise. And I'll keep coming back. You forget. You're my Ianto Jones.

John gently pulled Ianto's face towards his and kissed him tenderly, his thumbs running along the man's cheekbones, wiping away the tears. Ianto kissed him back desperately.

Eventually, John pulled away, and let go of Ianto's hand.

"I'll see you soon, Ianto Jones. You just wait."

And with that, he turned around and walked a safe distance away, turned back round, and thumbed his wrist strap. A soft orange light began to engulf him. He smiled at Ianto one last time, who smiled tearfully back. And then he was gone.

In the Vortex, Captain John Hart allowed himself to shed a few tears himself

***

Ianto was back at the Hub. It was dark. He could see Jack in his office, and began to walk slowly towards the door.

He was intercepted by Gwen. She stood in front of him, hands on hips, face furious.

"I-" Ianto began, but was stopped by a powerful slap to the face.

Jack's head jerked up from the desk and looked towards the commotion. And leapt up from his desk when he saw Ianto.

He was going to give him a piece of his mind, but then he saw Ianto's face. Tear streaked, and desperately unhappy, he clutched the side of his face that Gwen had slapped.

Jack ran quickly over. "Gwen," he demanded, "go home to Rhys."

"Why the hell should I? Ianto here is the one you should be telling what to do, he was the total prick last night-"

"Gwen, go HOME," Jack shouted at her.

"Fine," she grumbled, picked up her coat, and walked quickly out of the Hub.

"Ianto, what?" Jack asked as Ianto sank down onto the sofa.

"John..." was all he could manage.

"What? Did he hurt you?" Jack asked, alarmed.

"Don't be so naive, Jack."

"Then what?"

So Ianto explained. How he had felt before leaving the Hub, his anger at Gwen, his chance meeting with John, how they had slept together, and how John had had to leave.

"Oh, Ianto," Jack sighed, pulling him in tight, and kissing the top of his head, "how could you ever think I prefer Gwen? How could I ever do that when you're in the room?"

Ianto sniffed, and hugged Jack tighter. "What about when I'm not in the room?"

"To be frank, I tend to pay more attention to the ceiling."

Ianto gurgled a half-laugh. "John was right. I still love you."

"And I love you, too."

Ianto pulled himself up to kiss Jack, and Jack met the kiss without a moment's hesitation.

"Come to bed with me, Ianto. Please."

Ianto laughed quietly again. "If you insist."

"Oh I do."

They were walking hand in hand towards Jacks tiny bedroom when Ianto stopped.

"Jack," he said, "John said he'd come back."

"Do you want him to?"

Ianto looked away. "Yes," he said, ashamed.

Jack pulled Ianto closer. "Then I want him to, too."

Ianto sighed, and looked Jack in the eye. "You really are the best, you know."

"Oh, I know. You're pretty good yourself."

"I love you, Jack."

Jack jumped down into his bedroom and lifted Ianto down.

"I love you too, Ianto Jones."

Jack kissed Ianto roughly, and pushed him down onto the bed.

Ianto loved Jack. He loved John. And both men loved him. And he had been in both pairs of arms. Not everyone was that lucky.


End file.
